Saturday 10^th October – Beijing, China

Morning

• Arrive at your own convenience in Beijing.
• Meet at 8:30am in the lobby of the communicated hotel for pre-tour meeting.
• Discover the historic Lugou Bridge, renowned for the 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident that sparked the Second Sino-Japanese War. Uncover the stories of bravery and resilience at this iconic site.
• Visit the Museum of the War of the Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, one of the best museums in China and the best place to learn the Chinese narration of WWII.
• Lunch for traditional Beijing Zhajiang Noodle (Fried Soy Bean Sauce Noodles).

Afternoon

• Explore the February 7 Memorial Hall – Changxindian, which honours the legacy of the February 7th strike and the individuals who played a role in shaping China’s labour rights movement.
• Visit the Former Residence of Li Dazhao in Beijing, a historic site honouring one of the founding members of the Chinese Communist Party.
• Climb Mt. Jingshan Park for sunset views over the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.
• Dinner of famous Beijing Duck.
• Overnight in Beijing.

Sunday 11^th October – Beijing – Xi’an

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Up nice and early to visit the Mao Zedong Mausoleum in the middle of Tiananmen Square where the Chairman’s body lies in state.
• Experience the grandeur of Tiananmen Square, a vibrant and culturally rich public square encircled by iconic landmarks such as the Forbidden City and the Great Hall of the People. Immerse yourself in history and culture as you explore this historic site at the heart of Beijing.

Afternoon

• Having lunch near the train station and take the 4.5-hour high-speed rail to Xi’an (2:05pm-6:30pm).
• Arrive in Xi‘an, one of the oldest cities in China; thirteen dynasties once established their capitals here, making it a core region of Chinese civilisation. In addition, Xi’an holds an important place in the history of the Chinese Revolution.
• Enjoy a dinner of Xi’an’s distinctive noodle dishes and experience the city’s everyday traditional cuisine.
• Overnight in Xi’an.

Monday 12^th October – Xi’an

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Head out of town to Lintong District to see the Terracotta Warriors, the UNESCO heritage site where the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, prepared for his journey into the afterlife, a must-see for any visitor to China.
• Visit Huaqing Palace and the Huaqing Hot Springs. This site is not only a historic landmark associated with the famous love story of a renowned Tang dynasty emperor, but also an important location that played a pivotal role in a turning point of China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. It is the site of the arrest of Chiang Kai-shek by his own generals in the Xi’an Incident, including the cave where the Generalissimo fled to in his underpants in the middle of the night.
• Lunch for the nationwide famous Biangbiang noodle.

Afternoon

• Check out the Banpo Neolithic Archaeological site, an underrated museum well worth a visit, especially for Engels’ geeks! The museum displays the Banpo Neolithic matriarchal culture and its overthrow by patriarchy explained using communist materialist history with special reference to Engels’ work ‘The Origin of Property, the Family and the State’.
• Take a look at the Bell tower and Drum tower square, then head to the Muslim quarter, the most famous street food street in Xi’an. Try the local cuisine and authentic Chinese Halal food of Hui Muslims of China at the Muslim Quarter.
• Overnight in Xi’an.

Tuesday 13^th October – Xi’an

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and the Xi’an Museum to learn more about the ancient history of the region and the significance of Xi’an city in Chinese history.
• Cycle on the ancient city wall of Xi’an with a history of nearly 700 years!
• Lunch.

Afternoon

• Visit the Lama Temple of Xi’an, the only Gelugpa Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Shaanxi Province. Established during the Qing dynasty by the Manchu rulers, the temple follows a traditional Han Chinese courtyard layout and is adorned with decorative elements from Mongolian culture, offering a vivid example of China’s distinctive ethnic and cultural integration.
• Visit the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi’an’s most iconic landmark, and then head to the Everbright City of the Great Tang Dynasty, where you can enjoy local cuisine amid dazzling lights and elegant traditional Chinese architecture.
• Overnight in Xi’an.

Wednesday 14^th October – Xi’an – Yan’an

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel.
• High-speed Rail to the city of Yan’an (10:00am-11:41am).
• Lunch of Yan’an mushroom noodle.

Afternoon

• Start the tour of the core Red Bases of the Chinese Revolution. The first stop is Wangjiaping Revolutionary Site, the location of the Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China during the revolution. Visit the meeting site of the Celebration of Victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.
• The second stop is the Yangjialing Revolutionary Site, the venue of the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China. At this congress, Mao Zedong Thought was formally established as the guiding ideology of the CCP. In Yangjialing, Mao Zedong met with the American journalist Anna Louise Strong and put forward his famous assertion that “all reactionaries are paper tigers.” This site is also where Deng Xiaoping held his wedding.
• The third stop is Zaoyuan Revolutionary Site, the location of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China during the revolution. You can see a bronze statue of the five senior Party secretaries of the time here.
• Dinner for Roujiamo, the Chinese hamburger of Shaanxi Province.
• Overnight in Yan’an.

Thursday 15^th October – Yan’an – Liangjiahe – Zichang

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Drive out of Yan’an city to Liangjiahe village (approx. 1.5 hours). This is the village where the current President Xi Jinping spent 7 years of his youth as a peasant when he was “sent down” to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. You can visit the cave dwellings where he lived.
• Lunch at Liangjiahe, savour the Heluo noodle Xi loved when he lived here.

Afternoon

• Drive on to Zichang City (approx. 1 hour), renamed after one of the early communist martyrs Xie Zichang, whose early communist work made it possible for Mao’s Red Army to establish red bases in northern Shaanxi.
• Visit the Zichang Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall and the Cemetery of Xie Zichang, which commemorates the martyr who died at 38 in 1935 after being wounded in 1934. A martyrs’ cemetery was built in 1946 by the CPC Central Committee and the Border Region Government.
• Visit the Wayaobu Revolutionary Site, where Mao formulated the strategy of making an alliance with the Nationalists against the Japanese.
• Visit the Revolutionary University founded in Zichang by the communists, established by the Communist Party of China during the Chinese Civil War, provided ideological and political education to Communist cadres and revolutionaries.
• Dinner & Overnight in Zichang.

Friday 16^th October – Zichang – Anding – Yan’an

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Discover Shigong Grottoes, a nearly 1000-year-old Song dynasty temple carved into a hillside. Explore the preserved statues that survived the Cultural Revolution, offering a glimpse into China’s rich history and resilience.
• Drive out to Anding old town, a real historical old town right in the northern Shaanxi countryside where you can see the old Qing dynasty ‘Yamen’ (government house) and what remains of the old town walls. Inside, there are daily necessities collected from 200 years ago.
• Lunch for the Zichang Pancake and Mung bean starch noodle in Anding old town.

Afternoon

• Drive to the birthplace and ancestral home of General Xie Zichang, learn more about his life and significance in the Chinese Revolution.
• Drive back to Yan’an (approx. 2 hours) and overnight.

Saturday 17^th October – Yan’an – Beijing

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel.
• Visit the Yan’an Revolutionary Museum, the perfect conclusion to our journey, offering a comprehensive review of the course of the Chinese Revolution.

Afternoon

• Take the high-speed railway from Yan’an to Beijing West Station. (12:25pm-18:37pm)
• Tour concludes, YPT can assist with accommodation or onward transfers to your next destination.

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